aessinus

Looks like my Buffalo that's 110#. ASO, but with decent rebound for a Taiwanese cast iron. Works for 3/8" down & meh for small spring wire hooks, but I wouldn't recommend it for blades. Tool steel will have you cussin it. Look for some heavy rr-rail to stand on end. You be a happier smith. Mostly mine is a hardy holder....

Shame it's a bit far,or I'd be up for a barn-raising. Could bring my wood-box. Y'all got nice mead.

Congrats! Seems you deserve her. Y'all have fun!

Rotary-wing skin forms. Older helicopter fuselages weren't designed so much for aerodynamics because of lower speeds, but for aesthetics & enclosing odd bits of hardware.

Appears you have a bit of natural skill. Update your profileas to where on Terra you are... You might be surprised that there are other smiths close.

My 25+ year old 110 lb Buffalo from Taiwan actually has a 7" rebound from 10" directly over the waist. At the heel between 5-6". Since it was a freebie, I have used it as necessary over the years; working 3/4 sucker rod I can tell a difference from the shop anvil at work. Hence, my year long search for a real anvil. In the meantime, I've switched to using a 4x4x24" of 4140QT on end for anything over 3/8 mild steel. The difference is significant.

@bigfootnampa: click the pic & it gets REALLY big.

I have the same saw, except with a weld repair in the frame center. Construction guys find all sorts of high places to drop these from. Got mine for less than the price of blades & it paid for itself in labor on the first job. The really cool thing is it clamps up in the post vise.

I used a 4" chunk of ~1/2" thick truck spring to make the upright blade for a hot cut like in Brian B's video. Tubing for the shank & a welded collar, since I was hesitant about my ASO. Works sweet as fabricated. Holding the edge much better than the old hardy I had.

I found two 22" sticks of 1" x 5 tpi acme in the maintenance shop scrap pile. Each one had a nut. Appear to be drop from some "special" machine project. Even with the tighter thread, ( checked my leg vises and all 4 are 4tpi) these are just begging to be used. I'm not sure how best to turn the hex nuts into proper screw boxes. If I used them for a woodworkers bench leg vise, I would just inlay into the fixed jaw. I'm thinking salvaged ball hitches would make proper ends to fit the screws to. Then there's the grease cup for the back...

I think it looks good. I've been making mine asymmetrical so my hand "know" which side is down. Same for any double-bitted tool head. By the by fellers, mine showed up last week & a forced myself to use it over the weekend. That dude moves metal great. It now has a place of honor at my living room station. Thanks very much!

Thanks very much for the post. Just a hint for the occasional welders, a defuct icebox with an incandescent bulb helps keep out ambient moisture. Your little crackerbox will thank you.

The cheapest one from the dollar store. OP: Thanks for the tip. Worked a champ on a short length of rusty chain. Made the cleanup really quick.

Too.Funny. Yeah, I put it on my watch list for the humor value. At near $7/lb. Tex is gonna make his modification labor back, as well. :lol: At this rate he might be able to sell his plans to farriers.

Welcome, Hoss! Listen to these fellars and keep looking. Use TPAAP & it will pay of big time. Ask any north Texas drilling hands you run across, you might be amazed what they turn up.

I've been following this thread all along & must say, bravo for getting your hands dirty & being stubborn. Thankfully you have an onsite maintenance group willing to kick your butt in the right directions & offer brotherly aide. The skills you have already learned... Makes me curious as to your background to launch off into a project of this magnitude, since you continuously denounce prior fabrication knowledge. You have obviously done due diligence regarding materials, processing, techniques. Your project is coming along nicely & I expect to see great things from this anvil. Color me impressed.

the jaw liners slide opposite directions in relation to vise centerline to increase the gap. Vise itself is still closed.

I keep forgetting this forum is worldwide, so thanks for the clarification, Albert. fyi, "y'alls" is plural, "y'all's" is plural possesive - for when I slip up.

First, thank you for your service. Second, howdy & welcome from another newcomer. Third, you seem to be at about the same point with your lad as I am with mine. I started off on small projects until some interest was evident, but now that he's finally asked, maybe he will take a genuine interest. It would be nice to have a striker his size. He's got me by near a hundredweight, because I'm a wormy little Texan. Best of luck & xxxxxx glad to have you here, Sir!

Augh! I feel like Charlie Brown with the football. I don't suppose you need a mule?

Motion seconded! 3#-9oz?

Assuming nothing has changed since the early 80's, sucker rod, drill stem, upset tubing are 4140 QT (quenched & tempered). Working with 20-40 foot joints in the air would bend lesser stuff. Around here they are fairly easy to come by from the pipe yard scrap pile in smaller bits. If you weld it & can lay hold of 7018 rod, clean/prep your joint really nice & you can forge the welds when your done, if needed.

A hold-fast like this might help. Seems more positive than bicycle chain or spring actuated ones. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/9260-double-bick-anvil-holddown/

Just wow... You scored four of those posts in a row.

Magnetic? Will a file touch it? What is rough density? Is the dark end black scale or oil residue? Spark test results?